Page 134 of Feral Alphas

My jaw clicks as I grit my teeth together. “I see you’ve been digging into my business.”

“Your business is Romdine business, Kye.”

“I’m surprised you’d say that, since you’re the one who cut me off.”

His lips curl back. “Are we here to dance with words or settle business?”

I shrug, feeling oddly detached. This man and the name he gave me have dominated all aspects of my life to date, but if it weren’t for his money, I wouldn’t seek him out. I’m more likely to go to Scott or my sister for advice than him.

I tap the pen on the leather journal, then point it in his direction. “You want me to join a misogynistic, law-breaking pack for the sake of a few dollars. My answer is no.”

He groans and rests his knuckles against the back of his forehead. “For fuck’s sake, Kye! Where the hell did you learn to be so senseless? They have an omega, for pity’s sake!”

“So do I.”

Romdine senior scoffs. “A woman who’ll never be able to step out in society.” His lips purse. “Have you marked her as yours?”

“Not yet. We’re in a holding period for twelve months at the Omega Center’s direction.” Not that he needs all the details, but it’s hard not to feel the need to defend myself against him. My father’s an expert at getting under my skin.

He smirks. “Then it doesn’t count; you can still break away.”

I choke at his disgusting audacity. I lift my left hand and count off on my fingers. “Why would I leave a pack that I respect, love, and have a scent match for?”

He blanches and crosses his arms. “Leave them and come back to Kazi. I’ll release your trust fund if you do, even if you don’t join the Wests.”

I stare at him, trying to decipher the absurdity behind his intentions. He’s obsessed with his bloodline, but now that I have my own a pack, he’s trying to tear me away.

“Tell me, Dad. Is it that you don’t want me associated with so-called criminals, or that you don’t want me to be happy?”

He scoffs. “You think living in squalor is happiness? I know you Kye, you’re a high-maintenance man. An omega you can’t pay for is an omega you can’t keep.”

My phone vibrates and I pull it out to see a message from Colt that has me jumping to my feet, fire racing through my veins. “I think we’re done here.”

“Sit down, Kye!” he says, lacing it with alpha command. That dominant voice used to cut me right through the knees, but strangely enough I barely feel it now. Compared to Colt who can make me twitch with a growl and Luka who could drop every man in this room to his knees with his scent, it barely tickles now.

“Sorry, Dad, but I don’t need to stand here and listen to you badmouthing my pack. I’m not asking for your permission or blessing, just stop trying to drag my career and my property through the mud.”

He jumps to his feet, face flushed red. “Kye Romdine! You’re walking away from a hundred and fifty billion dollars! I won’t offer second chances.”

I look him in the eye. “It’s such a large number, so it’s strange to discover you have nothing of value to offer me. I refuse to abandon my pack like you did, and I pity you for giving up the chance to meet these wonderful people in my life.”

A hollow laugh echoes through me. “Take my apartment, if you can. The only reason I’m clinging to it is because I picked it out with Mom.” I suck in a deep breath, pain mingling with sadness as I stare him down. “She’d be down-right gutted at what you’re doing. Maybe she was never your scent match and you bought her with money like you’re suggesting I do.”

The red in his face fades to white and he drops into his fancy leather office chair, hand over his breast. “You arrogant pup!” he sputters.

Before I open the door, I turn to look over my shoulder. “I’m sure you don’t want my advice, but I suggest you make Rachel your successor. She’s wicked smart, and Fenton will gamble it all away within a decade. Now if you’ll excuse me, my omega is in heat, and I’m needed at home.”

The glass door slams behind me, the sound therapeutic even though it’s hushed by padded stoppers. A weight drops off my shoulders as I stride away, shedding the years of authoritative control, the feeling of never being good enough, the tiny voice in the back of my head that says being a musician isn’t a real career.

Maybe I’ll change my last name to Nesters.

The house smells like a rose festival moved in while I was gone, blooming alongside an orange orchard. Beneath it simmers Zane’s alpha scent, stronger than I’ve ever sensed it.

I catch sight of the shattered hole in the wall. “Frick!” Broken bricks, gray cement glue, and white drywall spill across the sickly orange carpet in the hall, blocking access to my room. It looks like the house threw up on itself.

More importantly, the killer alpha who lived inside that room is gone.

My mouth dries up as I tiptoe down the other hall and peek into Rose’s room. Her soft moans set my blood on fire, and I watch inshock as Zane slowly writhes himself into our omega, while Colt washes her down with a wet towel while she clings to his arm.

---